The British Minister of Culture, Michelle Donelan, said Wednesday that the marbles plundered from the Parthenon belong to the United Kingdom, so they should not be returned to Greece, and ruled out alleged contacts with the Greek authorities for a cultural exchange.
«It would open the door to question the entire contents of our museums,» Donelan said in an interview with BBC Radio 4, adding that this would be a «dangerous path» and would be like uncovering Pandora’s box.
Speculation about a possible imminent agreement on the Elgin Marbles has been rife in recent days after a Greek newspaper reported talks between George Osborne, president of the British Museum, and the Greek authorities.
The British Museum, which houses one of the most important historical heritage collections in the world, would thus be willing to make an exchange whereby Athens would get the marbles back in exchange for a loan to London of other pieces.
«(Osborne) is not willing to give them back, basically. That’s not his intention. He has no desire to do that. The concept of a 100-year loan has also been discussed, which is not what he is planning either,» Donelan clarified Wednesday.
In doing so, he has stated that Osborne agrees that they should not be returned, as they «belong» to the UK, where they have been looked after «for a long time.» «Where we have allowed access to these pieces,» he said.
The Greek government has always argued that it wants the permanent return of the heritage held by the British Museum, while the museum is leaning towards some kind of intermediate arrangement. In fact, the UK Executive also stressed in December that it does not plan to reform the law that limits to very exceptional cases the perpetual restitution of works of art.
The Elgin Marbles are one of the main attractions of the British Museum, which also displays other pieces from ancient Greece and other historical cultures such as Egypt.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
